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Friend Rob Wolf on facebook. He's the man. Mark's daily apple is good, also. Calories in < calories out and you'll lose weight. South Beach is a good diet, too. Low cars, high protein, low refined carbs I've done it but I need to get back on it.

I've tried just about every diet known to man. I did Scarsdale as a kid with my mom. I've done cabbage soup, most of the boxed plans like Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem, did the Weight Watchers cult meetings, paleo, south beach, ADA (diabetes diet), the heart one (SCAR?), juice cleanses, etc. Finally, I even tried starving myself for awhile, eating less than 1000 calories a day, but exercising to burn over 3000. Wanna know what happened? I yo-yo'd my way to a really, REALLY unhealthy number. I lost my gallbladder, lost big chunks of my hair and ended up in the hospital at one point.

A few years ago, I was referred to a nutritionist and she introduced me to Marc David's books Nourishing Wisdom and The Slow Down Diet. The basic philosophy focuses on eating whole foods (those foods that come in their natural form, not from a box), deliberate and mindful eating and listening to the messages from your body about the nutrients it needs while giving your body the rest and support it needs to keep moving. That was during the height of my sickness and I think being sick really caused the early part of my weightloss, but I don't recommend that path. Once I was eating a balanced diet of whole foods, the weight continued to come off. I'm still working on it, but have lost 130#. I've been trying to be comfortable at this current plateau, but I'd like to get another 30-40 lbs off.

Because I'm diabetic, I have to watch my carbs, but I've done a lot of experimenting with what I can and can't eat for my blood sugars. I used to have giant piles of rice, pasta and potatoes with a little meat and veggies, but I've switched that around. Now I'll make a stir fry with tons of veggies and just 1/3 cup of brown rice instead all that white rice with a little meat & veg. I've found that I prefer Jovial's brown rice pasta to regular wheat based pastas and they don't spike my blood sugars. Potatoes are fine in moderation, especially when I stick to yukon gold or sweet potato. Fruit is still really tricky for me as I can't seem to be in the same room with tropical fruit, like a banana or pineapple, without a sugar spike.

Like Hoya said, I have some paleo cookbooks and website recipes I eat because I like them. Eating paleo can be a good way to limit carbs, but I have to watch out for getting obsessive about every single calorie. I allow myself to freely eat something yummy on occasion. I follow the 80/20 rule where 80% of my meals are healthy and balanced, but on occasion you can have something like pizza, a slice of cake, or a big burger, fries and a beer. Most of the time I just try to plan my plate to be 1/3 protein, 1/3 veggies, and 1/3 a high-fiber carbohydrate. Actually, the carb isn't really ever 1/3, maybe it's more 1/4 carb, and 3/4 meat and veggie.

Going back to Vegas after I got more healthy, I discovered that "girlie drinks" are my huge weakness. I love a daiquiri or margarita, but even being very careful about the kinds of meals I ate and all that walking, pounds magically appeared. I'm still working to find something I enjoy drinking, while still being mindful of the things that don't work for me (mostly refined sugars). Yeah, vodka tonic, extra lemon just doesn't cut it for me. Even if you put a cute umbrella into it.

I've also started working with an "integrative medicine" doctor who is helping me to monitor what is happening hormonally in my body. We discovered I have a real problem with cortisol (the stress hormone) and getting that under control is helping. But it is all still very much a work in progress. I've been having a rough time the last few weeks with lots of stress and worry. I told my nutritionist that I was super tempted to sit down with a family-sized bag of Cool Ranch Doritos and a 2-liter bottle of Dr Pepper and eat myself into a coma. She said, "Why don't you?" I practically melted down into a whole explanation of how I can't and why I can't and .... oh, there are all those old rules again. I didn't eat any doritos or Dr Pepper, but I did loosen up my regimen a bit an allow some chocolate and a bit more carbs and I started to feel better.

It's still very much a work in progress, but when I see friends I haven't seen in awhile, they tell me that I look like I am feeling much better. I went to a gathering of people who I don't get together with very often and one of them saw me walking up and said, "Here comes Sonya." Another good friend shouted, "Here comes what's left of Sonya". I love her.

Nice post Sonya! There's so much more than calories in/calories out going on. Fundamentally that's science but it's still not going to work the same way for everyone. I'm a volumetric eater so I've learned that having 2 cups of raw spinach with a meal helps me feel full, no matter what else I'm eating. I love to cook, so I always say real/whole foods. Fortunately I love veggies, esp if I've grown them!

Weight will always be an issue for me because I love my wine, and I am a good cook (yeah, still working on portion control ;-)

I have always hated tomatoes. Store tomatoes don't taste that great to me, and I always feel like the gooey centers are like little wads of snot when I'm eating them. However, my husband convinced me to grow some in pots on our front deck, where we get the most sunshine. I grew some big beefsteaks for him to slice and some heritage cherry tomatoes for salads from seed. Last summer I was out there watering and popping those little babies like candy. Dan said, "I thought you hate tomatoes." and I said "I made these. They are MINE!"

The chemistry of the body fascinates me. I'm learning a lot about cortisol and blood sugars. If I keep my sugars between 90-140, lbs come off. Any higher or lower and I gain. And cortisol is everything for me. If I can keep the stress low, I'm good. One freak-out or fight about something and I want ALL THE CARBS and gain weight, even if I avoid them and eat clean.

Moving your body is important too. Not necessarily killing yourself at the gym, but moving and engaging all the muscle groups. I've got a stretching/strength routine I do in the morning and something I call Yogalates (a combo of yoga moves and Pilates exercises) I do in the late afternoon. If I can find time to take the dog out for a nice long walk in the day, that's a bonus. I've got a fitbit that I use to track my activity. I shoot for a minimum of 5000 steps a day, but aim to get at least 3 days per week with over 10,000.

It's true that all you can do is try to do a little bit better today than you did yesterday.

Good onya, Sonya! I, too, have tried just about every diet in the book. Bottom line: diets don't work! You need to find something you can live with and follow that. Depriving yourself of food A will only make you crave food A. That is why Atkins, South Beach, Nutri System, Medifast, etc etc don't work for the long haul- you simply cannot keep following that way of eating. I had a friend lose 150 lbs on Medifast and he gained back 200 once he got bored and quit. Paleo has the same problems. Then again, what IS Paleo. You'll get more definitions than Carter has little liver pills. Seems like a good rule of thumb is to cut carbs- esp. simple carbs. Go with low glycemic index/load(Google it!) foods. Basically subtract the fiber from the carbs. So, although beans have lotsa carbs, they also have lotsa fiber. Sadly, as Sonya mentioned, those delicious sugary drinks are deadly, as are non diet soft drinks and other mostly sugar goodies. That doesn't mean you can never have a candy bar or Piña Colada again, but it does mean that you need to stop at one rather than five! I've found it's easier not to start than to stop! So, no, I don't recommend Paleo, unless it's a very loose version thereof- so not really Paleo!http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0071462694?keywords=glycemic%20index&qid=1455569498&ref_=sr_1_1&s=books&sr=1-1

I lost 16 lbs last month without going on a gimmicky type diet. All I did was cut my calories to 1500/day and replace my lunch with a Shakeology vegan chocolate shake. Cutting your calories that much forces you to remove most carbs from your diet, so you can maximize the amount you can eat. I have been eating mostly lean meats like chicken and turkey with vegetables (with different spices to make it interesting) and small amounts of dairy like fat-free milk and Skinny Cow ice cream. I just got my cholesterol test back from my doctor today and in one month I moved all my cholesterol values from borderline high to low average. It really wasn't very hard either. The Shakeology stopped almost all of my cravings for junk food.

I used to love the Skinny Cow ice creams, but I've decided to stop. The dextrose and corn syrup cause a steeper blood sugar reaction that just plain granulated sugar for me. When I want an ice cream treat, I've started buying Talenti ice creams or gelato. Milk, pure cane sugar and natural flavorings. YUM!

Do some reading about plateaus. There's a lot of new science out there about how our body is designed to protect itself from famine and there are many systems that alert to any kind of weight loss and try to hold you where you are.

I hit a plateau at about 70# loss and stayed there for an alarming amount of time. I tried a bunch of things to try to kick start it again. I worked on improving sleep, getting more outdoor exercise time, moving my body clock (I've always been a night owl and believed sleep before 1am is boring), watching for reactions to certain foods (this is where I discovered tropical fruit and I are not friends), etc. Eventually things started moving in the right direction... until they didn't again. But I'm not too worried about it. I'm just watching and trying to make better decisions every day. It'll happen.

Nice post Sonya! There's so much more than calories in/calories out going on. Fundamentally that's science but it's still not going to work the same way for everyone.

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Please expand on this. It sounds like you are accepting the facts behind it all, and then immediately reversing field. Calories in/ calories out certainly applies to everyone, from Olympic athletes to sedentary gamers. The old adage that "I've tried dieting, but nothing seems to work" is nonsense. Willpower and sticktoitiveness isn't optional for weight loss. Most diets begin on January 1 with the evening chocolate bars following about 2 weeks later..... Yet we blame diet plans.

Now I understand why you are so sensitive concerning folk's weight, as you tell us about your long standing battle with obesity.
Although it's my personal opinion that you should not be using your position to censure the opinions of others on this particular subject. The rules for "shaming" should apply to all, not just obese people.
You state you have "tried just about every diet" you also state you are a diabetic, I'm assuming it's type 2. You also state you eat chocolate & are "tempted" by a 2 litre Dr Pepper. Neither good, especially when they are a diabetic.
All modern studies show that type 2 diabetes is both avoidable & reversible by simply making massive lifestyle changes. Those same studies show that without these massive changes, amputation of limbs can & does follow. So please please make the change.
I wish you well in your endeavours & sincerely hope you can overcome your cravings.

Just as a suggestion to people who want to lose weight and get healthy, I recommend avoiding gimmick diets and instead choosing a new lifestyle that you can and will maintain perpetually. The only way to really lose weight and keep it off is to change the way you do things permanently. That's how you avoid the "Yo-Yo Effect".

Please expand on this. It sounds like you are accepting the facts behind it all, and then immediately reversing field.

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I accept the science of calories in less than calories out = weight loss. However - not everyone can eat the same calories and have the same effect/timing of weight loss. I think certain calories are "better" than other calories.

I can drink 200 calories of wine and gain weight, but eat 200 calories of turkey & spinach salad and maintain weight. Calorie interaction with MY BODY isn't the same. That's what I meant. Trust me, I know what works for me and I would never presume to lecture anyone else on what might work for them. I know what the science says, and I know what my body says.

Made this over the weekend - one of my favorite recipes from Juli Bauer! I used venison because I have a ton in the freezer - but have made with ground pork and ground turkey as well.

Another of her recipes I adore is in the cookbook I love - sweet potato noodles with meatballs - here is a similar version on her website but not exactly the same, I don't think. It's all good http://paleomg.com/thai-pork-veggie-meatballs/